Swag Mail

Late last week we recieved an email from Tasmania’s Deputy Premier and Education Minister, Jeremy Rockliff MP. We opened it with trepidation. One of our strongest supporters in adventure learning over many years has been the DoE. If they couldn’t find a way to back us, would anyone? With a click (who sends paper mail these days) our fortunes turned for the better. Their funding will support all Tasmanian Government schools to receive classroom subscriptions at no cost. This project is, of course, for any school across the country in 2019 but it’s good to know that Tassie schools will again form the backbone of the student engagement. 

Forget about the pure fun and enjoyment of using adventure learning in classrooms. If you’re a primary school teacher or principal, these printable documents will give you the educational justification for getting involved. In them you will find phrases like ‘cross-curriculum priorities’, ‘content descriptors’ and ‘learning sequence’.

Click below to download the Schools Info and Curriculum Outline for:

• Year 1–2
• Year 3–4
• Year 5–6

Tasmanian Department of Education teachers will receive the units in these outlines as part of a classroom subscriptions for free when they sign up*. For other teachers subcriptions can be as low as $95 /class if you have 5 classes in your school signed up.

There will also be a universally free Official Student Journal, so that all students can learn alongside us on the journey.

Register your interest in a classroom subscription or free participation in 2019 >>

*Classroom subscriptions will be available as soon as we launch the new website in a few weeks. By registering above we will keep you posted.

After getting feedback from the Where? Where? Wedgie! project earlier this year it was clear that students and teachers really loved seeing movies from the field. They were rated as the best motivator for students to then engage in proper learning activities. 

So next year we are committed to making better content for classroom use. We’ve been practising with some new camera and editing equipment over the last few weeks. Check them out (and subscribe to our YouTube channel) at:

• Wilfy’s First Ride (shot on new Panasonic GH5 and edited on iPad with Lumifusion)
• Hope and Wilfy Talk Gear (shot on loaned Panasonic GH4 and edited on iPhone with Lumifusion)
• Meet Tim Stredwick (shot and edited on iPhone with Splice)
• Putting the Bikes Together (shot and edited on iPhone with Splice)

The expedition website goes live later in December. One of its features will be a discussion board, or forum, where subscribed students and teachers will interact with us and each other. In past projects the forum community tends to take on a life of its own. It’s a lot of fun for all involved. There are two ways you might be willing to help:

1. To keep it safe and enjoyable for students we need forum moderators to keep an eye on it and approve/delete posts. 
2. We will be posing lots of questions and ideas about plants, animals, geography, culture and adventure as we travel. We really need to have some knowledgable voices in these fields chipping in with comments and replying to specific questions from students. Students benefit from the direct interaction with scientists and other experts. 

If you’re able to help, please reply to this email with a brief description of your background and how you would like to be involved.

We’ve been able to reduce the budget black hole, but even with the recent support of the DoE we still haven’t covered all the educational and expedition expenses for this project. 

Donations received so far are enough to fully subsidise 10 schools from anywhere in Australia to particpate. If you do contribute please let us know of a school that you think we should approach to get involved.

Please consider supporting this with a direct contribution and by sharing it with your friends and family.

View our campaign on GoFundMe >>

Bookend Trust 10 Year Anniversary Presentation
Monday 10th December, 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS Sandy Bay

Please join us to mark a decade of science and environmental outreach using the most outrageous projects imaginable. We’ll hear from past teachers and students as we take a moment to pause and reflect. Then find out what the next ten years might hold, and get the latest from Where? Where? Wedgie! and NatureTrackers, the Antarctic Experience and the upcoming Swag Family adventure.

Book free tickets on Eventbrite >>

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Read Swag Mail Edition #1 (12 October 2018)